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Saturday, July 26, 2014

Citadel LLC CEO Ken Griffin files for divorce from Anne Dias Griffin

  • Update 10/7/15: Ken Griffin, wife Anne Dias Griffin reach divorce settlement. Both parties came to the courthouse yesterday and settled the divorce, court division administrator Nairee Hagopian said this morning. 
  • Update 10/5/15:  Griffin divorce trial begins. Ken Griffin has 15 attorneys and aides on his legal team.
  • Update 3/5/15: Anne Dias Griffin says Ken Griffin's monthly income approaches $100 million—or $68.5 million after taxes—making him more than able to accommodate her requests in their divorce case to pay more for child support. 
  • Update 2/19/15:  Ken Griffin sold a three-bedroom downtown condominium for nearly $1.33 million, according to two real estate websites. Griffin sold the property in the Bloomingdale's building on East Delaware Place on Feb. 13, according to Trulia. Redfin has the same price but says the sale closed Feb. 17.  County records do not reflect the sale, and it is not clear who bought the property. The property, which has three full bathrooms, was listed by Chezi Rafaeli of Coldwell Banker. 
Update 10/5/15: Ken Griffin goes on $290 million real estate spree
Over the last two years, Mr. Griffin has gone on a multicity real estate shopping spree. He has spent nearly $300 million and set new price records in three cities, according to people familiar with his buying. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the deals.

The buying binge includes the purchase last year of two full floors of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Chicago, the city where Citadel is based and where Mr. Griffin, 46, has his main residence. He paid $13.3 million for the 37th floor and $16 million for the 46th floor, totaling just under $30 million. If combined, the deal would be the most expensive real estate purchase in Chicago.

7/26/14: The billionaire businessman filed for divorce yesterday in Cook County Circuit Court. The filing stated that “irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage. Any attempt at reconciliation would be impracticable and not in the best interests of the family.”

The Griffins — he's 45 and she's 43 — own two condominiums in the Park Tower on Michigan Avenue.

Ms. Griffin lives in the penthouse on the 67th floor, and Mr. Griffin recently purchased the 66th-floor condo.

The couple have three children ages 6, 3 and 2, the court documents say.

“As such, Kenneth believes that it is in the minor children's best interests that the parties be awarded their joint custody,” state the papers filed by the Chicago law firm Berger Schatz. “Anne has acknowledged Kenneth's compliance with the premarital agreement and has accepted the benefits of Kenneth's compliance with the premarital agreement.”

Though Ms. Griffin has been primary caregiver of their children, she also is a businesswoman. She is the founding partner of Aragon Global Management LLC, which she founded in 2001 with seed capital from legendary investor Julian Robertson.

The couple signed a premarital agreement July 18, 2003, a day before their wedding, according to Mr. Griffin's filings. He filed for divorce four days after their 11th anniversary.

Citadel has three big funds, all of which beat the market by a lot last year. The Citadel Tactical Trading fund surged nearly 27% last year, while its Global Equities Fund climbed over 23%, according to a person familiar with the matter. Citadel's flagship Wellington fund jumped 18% in 2014.

By comparison, the S&P 500 "only" gained 11% last year. Citadel's rivals did far worse, with the average hedge fund posting a gain of just 2.2%, according to data tracker eVestment.

While billionaires like Buffett an Icahn take positions in dozens of stocks, Citadel's most recent filings list more than 7,000 positions, according to Moreno.

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